Louisiana Ranks 47th In The Country For Retirement States

If you are searching for a place to retire, Bankrate.com says you may not want to be looking at the Bayou State.

Their survey determined Louisiana was the fourth worst retirement destination in the country. Ranking the state at #47 on their annual list.

Joining Louisiana at the bottom of the list were relative surprises California and New York. Others at the bottom include a tie for #48 between Maryland and New Mexico, and Arkansas at #46.

Louisianans may argue that the state offers plenty of cultural activities, But Bankrate analyst Taylor Tepper says the creative vitality index used to calculate the score indicates that outside of pockets of activity, pickings may be slim.

Who topped the list? South Dakota of all places...

Now how did Bankrate.com come up with their list? Here's how they explain:

"To construct our ranking, Bankrate looked at seven relevant features in the life of a retiree and used government and expert sources to compare states against one another. We then weighted those rankings based on the importance given to them by respondents to a 2017 Bankrate survey, which found that 47 percent of Americans would consider moving when they retire.

The study examined seven categories (weightings in parentheses): cost of living (20%), taxes (20%), health care quality (15%), weather (15%), crime (10%), cultural vitality (10%) and well-being (10%). Sources: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Council for Community and Economic Research, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gallup-Sharecare, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tax Foundation, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Western States Arts Federation."